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36. Abyss Locust Demon
Revelation 9.1-6
"The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star received the Abyss shaft key. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like a gigantic furnace. The Abyss's smoke darkened the sun and sky. Out of the smoke, locusts came down on the earth and received power like earth scorpions. They were not to harm the earth's grass, any plant or tree, but only those people without God's seal on their foreheads. They were not allowed to kill them but to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like a scorpion sting when it strikes. During those days, men will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will elude them." (Revelation 9.1-6) ✞
The Abyss
"A star" that falls from heaven to open the underworld could refer to Satan himself. Here, "hell" is called the "Abyss," meaning "bottomless" in Greek. "Abyss" is the same word Jesus used in Luke 8.31. "Jesus asked the demon-possessed man, 'What is your name?' 'Legion,' he replied because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss." In Revelation, the star with a key comes and releases the Abyss's locust demons. Access to the Abyss's shaft is locked, and God holds the key. Here the key is temporarily given to this fifth heavenly angel. This angelic being is under God's control and authority. ✞
Three Level Cosmos
The Hebrews pictured a three-level Cosmos. The "heavens" (shamayim) are above, the "earth" (eres) is in the middle, and the "underworld" (Sheol) is below. The "heavens" contained the "Upper Seas" or "Waters above the Firmament" and the "Chambers in heaven." Underneath that were the "Sun, Moon, and Stars." Then there were the mountains, the earth, and "Sheol" below resting on the "Pillars of the Earth." After the fourth century AD, a "Greek Scientific Cosmology" of a round earth and multiple concentric heavens replaced the Hebrew Cosmos. The underworld contained locust demons below the surface. The dead without Christ live in hell with the beast in the Abyss. It is Satan's prison during the Millennium or "one thousand years." It is a vast underground fire-filled cavern, and its only link with the earth is a locked shaft. The Abyss represents the locust demon's place and Satan, its king. God controls these places and evil powers, which are released to wreak havoc on the earth. ✞
Earth Scorpions
A plague of scorpion-stinging locusts tortures those without God's seal on their foreheads. A locust plague foreshadows the Day of the Lord in Joel 1.4. "What the locust swarm has left, the great locusts have eaten. What the great locusts have left, the young locusts have eaten. What the young locusts have left, other locusts have eaten." Following this, we read of the Spirit's coming in Joel 2.28-29, "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. Even on my male and female servants, I will pour out my Spirit in those days." In the Old Testament, locusts were destructive symbols because they devoured crops and food. They figured prominently in Egypt's eighth and ninth plagues before the Exodus. Here the Revelation scorpion stings tortured people who do not believe in God. "Scorpion stings" are well known in Israel for the excruciating pain they inflict. The one limitation placed on locusts is that they can only torment people for five months. They are still under God's power. ✞
"Abyss Locust Demon"
by Ron Meacock © 2021
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